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Song of the Day #4,696: ‘The Long Way Around’ – Jackson Browne

Continuing his pattern of waiting six years between albums, Jackson Browne released his most recent full-length effort, Standing in the Breach, in 2014. At 72, it’s unclear if this will be his last album, though he did release a song for Earth Day last year and has a couple of other small projects under his belt in the past few years.

If Standing in the Breach does prove to be his swan song, it’s a good and fitting one. The album finds Browne in a contemplative, nostalgic mood, and the easy, laid back sound is fitting for a record on which the best songs are about peaceful acceptance.

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Song of the Day #4,695: ‘Time the Conqueror’ – Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne waited six years to release his next album, 2008’s Time the Conqueror. Perhaps that wasn’t long enough.

I’m sorry to report that this record is the first in Browne’s catalog that did nothing for me from start to finish. The songs are too long and they lack memorable hooks. Every album I’ve heard so far has served up at least one track I consider a keeper, but not this one.

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Song of the Day #4,694: ‘The Naked Ride Home’ – Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne entered his fourth decade of recording with 2002’s The Naked Ride Home. This album is more personal than political, always a plus.

It’s also the longest record he’s ever released, its ten songs running a full hour. Six of these tracks run six or seven minutes, turning it into a test of patience at times. Often that padded running time is dedicated to long instrumental interludes, which doesn’t help.

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Song of the Day #4,693: ‘The Barricades of Heaven’ – Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne followed up the triumphant comeback of I’m Alive with Looking East, a record more in line with his mid-80s work.

The political songs made a comeback, but fortunately they don’t dominate the album and, for the most part, they are more subtle than earlier efforts. That said, I have to call him out for this particularly awful verse:

Do people really spend millions upon millions
To make us think we care about the planet
At the same time polluting and looting the only world we’ve got
So they can maximize their profit?
People do

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Song of the Day #4,692: ‘Inside’ – Toad the Wet Sprocket

Listening to Jackson Browne’s I’m Alive last week and now this song today, I’m reminded that the early 90s contained their fair share of musical treasures.

Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Dulcinea is one of my favorite albums from that era. This is the best release by one of the best alternative rock bands of all time, one that has never received half the recognition they deserve.

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